Over the past 70 years, worldwide, in the float concentration processes that are carried out in concentrating plants for Copper, Molybdenum, Zinc and other metals, there has not existed much technological innovation in the use of collecting reactants, the most notable ones being that of combing existing collectors at different proportions, or by combining them with reactive foaming agents in order to handle the concept of a genetic reactant).
Currently, based on the size of the release of the mineral species of copper, molybdenum, zinc, and other contained metals, on the relationship of the same species and the electrochemical potential in the species' pulp as well as in the mineral species themselves, the hydrogen potential (pH) is adjusted at values optimum enough to produce the flotation of the mineral species with the assistance of the modifying reactants, the most used being, in decreasing order the following: hydrated lime, calcium hydroxide, calcium peroxide, soda, calcium carbonate, etc.
Based on the above, any technological innovation that may be found and may allow the flotation of copper, molybdenum, zinc mineral ores and other mineral ores contained, at pH's nearing the natural one, or that may decrease the consumption of Ph modifying reactants, kilograms of salt per ton of processed mineral, without the recovery thereof being diminished with respect to the existing collectors or that improve the kinetics of the flotation process thereof, will be of great benefit as to the processes' economic profitability parameters.
Thus, copper-molybdenum, zinc and contained metal concentrating plants operate under the following generic circuit:                Crunching: step of reducing the size of the mineral up to values below 12.7 mm (½″).        Grinding: step whereby the mineral is finally crunched in the previous stages, and the pulp that is formed with the addition of water, pH modifying agents, collecting reactants and foaming agents is reduced to the final particle size that is necessary for the subsequent flotation by values close to 74 microns or −200 meshes;        Flotation: the operation through which the particles hydrofobized through the collector of copper-molybdenum, zinc and contained metals are separated from the iron ore and gangue, which are hydrophilized by the lime. Currently, pH is adjusted with additional quantities of lime, in order to obtain the maximum CU—Mo/Fe and/or Zn/Fe concentration ratio.        
The tendency of most plants to regularly float a pH between 10.0 and 11.0, an interval where maximum collection of copper-molybdenum, zinc and contained metal, concentration is achieved, whereas maximum depression of the iron ore is obtained.
However, the consumption of lime or pH modifying agents is very high, becoming a significant percentage of production costs. The consumption of lime may range from 0.6 Kg/TDM (kilograms per Ton of Dried Mineral) to 2.0 Kg/TDM, to get a pH between 10.0 a 11.0.